


I Have Heard You Calling in the Night

by PausePlayRepeat



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Abusive Relationships, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Prostitution, physical assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 15:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18853942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PausePlayRepeat/pseuds/PausePlayRepeat
Summary: Diego gets a call on the scanners from Beaman.





	I Have Heard You Calling in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own The Umbrella Academy or any characters.

Diego had been sitting behind the wheel of his derelict 1989 Buick Century when he got the radio from Beaman. The night had been quiet, the cold, stiff wind that signaled that summer was truly over leaving the slightest traces of goose pimples on his skin when they passed through his cracked window. Diego crossed his arms tighter across his chest. For the past hour he had been sitting in the parking lot behind the abandoned tire shop near the pier, watching the black water ripple in the bay as he listened for police alerts to come through on the scanner he had taken (stolen) when he had been kicked out of the police academy a few months beforehand.

 _Well_ , he’d thought, _if they weren’t going to keep him on, then he didn’t have to play by their rules._

Next to nothing had come in over the channel since Diego had staked out that night. A couple of notices of speeders, a couple of red lights run, but nothing that warranted his attention. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and was close to dozing off. So when Beaman’s voice crackled loudly over the small speaker, Diego nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Diego? Can you hear me? Tell me you’re being the nosy prat you are and listening in on the scanners again.”

Diego nearly didn’t answer, but pressed on the button and made sure he sighed loud enough so that Beaman could hear him before letting out a gruff, “What do you want, Beaman? I thought you all would arrest me if I came near any of your calls again.” He paused, something crossing his mind. “And how the hell did you get my individual channel?”

“I have my ways.”

Diego scoffed. “Let me guess, you got it from Eudora.”

A beat passed before Beaman replied. “Listen, Diego, that’s not the point. I need you to come to the alley off the intersection of West 59th and Montreal. I know you’re out prowling your usual spots.”

Diego rolled his eyes. So he wasn’t fit for the academy, but his old classmates were calling him out on their assignments?

“Forget it Beaman. Last I recall, you said I wasn’t police material. Something about being a ‘vigilante asshole?’”

He heard Beaman almost growl over the line. “Listen Diego, can you just get your ass over hear? I don’t have time for you to be the bastard you are.”

He almost retorted, but Diego bit back his scathing remark. What would it hurt him, really, to go out? He and Beaman, while not being friends at the academy, had held a grudging respect for the others’ abilities and Eudora had seemed to like him well enough. A little too well for his liking actually. At least Beaman hadn’t taunted him about his days in the Umbrella Academy like the other cadets. He wasn’t sure why, but Beaman had always seemed to give him a sympathetic look whenever the subject of Diego’s past crime fighting days were brought up. It had made Diego feel both uncomfortable and like he might be able to bond with the other man. But that was in the past.

Finally, he replied. “Fine. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

*******************************************************

When Diego stepped out of his car after turning down the alley of W 59th and Montreal, the scene wasn’t what he had expected to see. Diego had anticipated more patrol cars than just Beaman’s, and hadn’t expected to see Beaman as the only officer present. It was, of course, late, but if Beaman had needed to call in Diego, he had figured whatever was wrong was something…bigger. Still, he slammed shut the door of his car and made his way toward the other man, who was crouched down to the side of a large dumpster sitting near the back exit of the bar at the intersection.

“So what happened, Beaman? I know you didn’t call me out here because you missed me.” But when Diego finally came to stand next to Beaman, it became immediately clear why his old classmate had called him. Diego groaned.

Leaned up against the dumpster was Klaus, his long and skinny legs haphazardly kicked out in front of him. Diego noticed that Beaman had taken off his police jacket and thrown it over Klaus’ upper half which, to no surprise to him, was the only thing keeping the cold night air off of his bare shoulders. He must’ve been wearing one of his stupid women’s tank tops again, the ones Diego never understood why Klaus wore. Even though the weather had been mild for weeks, Klaus’ hair was greasy and what of his skin Diego could see was oily and crusted with a fine layer of dirt. He wondered vaguely how long it had been since Klaus had taken a shower. Under the grime and sheen of sweat, Diego noticed the bright blue and deep purple of fresh bruises lining the left side of Klaus’ face and a thick drip of blood streaming from one nostril. Klaus’ eyes were open, albeit the left one swollen slightly, and Diego could tell immediately from his pinprick pupils that he was high as a kite. But Klaus hadn’t seemed to notice his brother approach. He appeared to be staring at nothing in particular. Diego thought he looked like hell.

When Beaman didn’t address him, Diego asked him again. But taking in the sight before him, he already had his answer. He knew it would be the same answer he had heard about Klaus a hundred times already. “What happened?”

Beaman took his eyes away from Klaus and looked up at him. Diego noticed that he was holding an open water bottle. “Bar owner called in a suspected solicitation and drug deal. I was in the neighborhood, so I was the first officer to respond. When I got here the other guy had him shoved up against the wall smacking his head against it.”

So that explained Klaus’ face. “So where’s the goon now?”

“Romano took him down to the station for processing on counts of dealing and assault. I told him I would handle your brother.” Beaman capped the water bottle and stood up to face Diego directly.

“Listen, Diego,” he said quietly, as though Klaus might care. “I ran your brother’s name in the system, and he’s already got seven priors for possession and paraphenalia. I’m sure you’re well aware that if I took him in and they did a urine test he’d come up dirty. Add on another drug charge and another charge of prostitution for tonight and he’s looking at at least a year in jail. Probably longer.” Beaman paused and cast another concerned look at Klaus, who still did not appear to be aware that Diego had even showed up. “And maybe I’m overstepping here, but from the looks of it, jail isn’t the place he needs to be right now.”

Diego was silent. He knew everything that Beaman had said already. In addition to be a laughing stock at the police academy for his days in the Umbrella Academy, Diego often heard mocking remarks from the other cadets about whatever trouble Klaus had found himself in from week to week. The fourth Hargreeves sibling was well known amongst the city’s officers, which was unfortunate for Diego. Diego’s family had already been world famous, and Vanya’s book, that still remained on top seller lists, didn’t help him to put his upbringing behind him. Diego was almost ashamed to admit that he had hauled Klaus to rehab a couple of times for the sole purpose of keeping him out of the station and out of the other cadets’ conversations for a little while. Almost.

Finally, Diego broke his silence. “So what do you suggest I do with him, Beaman? You and I both know he won’t stay in rehab. He’ll be right back out here in a week.” It was something about this last statement that made Diego’s voice slip slightly. Just an inch, but Beaman must have heard it by the way his face softened.

_‘Dammit.’_

 Beaman handed him the water bottle he’d been holding and rested his hand lightly on Diego’s shoulder. “Take him home, Diego.”

 Diego tried to open his mouth to protest, but Beaman cut him off, plowing on.

 “Not to the Academy. Take him back to that shithole you call an apartment. At least for tonight. You’re his brother-if you want to take him back to rehab tomorrow, jail, let him loose, whatever, you can decide. But tonight he needs a bath and a bed. You can do that.” Beaman smirked. “On police orders, I might add.”

 “Prick,” Diego spat.

Regardless, Diego moved around him and kneeled down for the first time since arriving to be on eye level with his brother. Klaus’ eyes didn’t look quite right. Something like the old saying about the lights being on, but no one being home (although that applied to Klaus more often than not these days.) But unlike normal, the life was gone out of them. There was no trace of the usual mirth in Klaus’ eyes tonight. And it worried Diego, no matter how obnoxious he normally found it.

 “Klaus.” A pair of hazy green eyes flickered to meet his. “Come on, get up.”

 Finally, Klaus spoke. His voice was thick, as though he was having a hard time opening his mouth all the way. And he might be, Diego thought, considering the current state of his face.

“Why?” Klaus spat out a tooth and Diego winced despite himself.

“We’re going to my place.”

Klaus gave a heartless laugh. “Oh, so this time you’ll put me above the law? Not a move I’m used to seeing on you, bro.”

Diego jerked his thumb over at Beaman. “You can thank him for that.”

Lolling his head around to lock eyes with Beaman, Klaus’ face split into a wide and flirtatious grin. “My knight in shining armor.”

Rolling his eyes, Diego grabbed Klaus’ upper arm and hauled him roughly to his feet. “Get up and come on.”

Beaman’s jacket slid off of Klaus, and the fourth Hargreeves bent over to pick it up. Without Diego’s hand shooting out to steady him, he would have fallen squarely back to the pavement.

“Anything I can do to repay you, officer?” Klaus drawled sweetly, sweeping his arm over wildly to give Beaman back the coat.

Beaman, to Diego’s surprise, seemed un-phased by his brother’s shameless and drunken flirting. He only returned an easy smile and thanked Klaus for his jacket back before saying in a light tone, “You can repay me by staying at Diego’s for the night. I told him that otherwise he’s to bring your ass right back to jail. So I expect you to not set a foot outside of his apartment.”

Klaus smirked and leaned in close to Beaman’s face. “Well I might just have to so I can see my sweet savior again.”

Diego thought he might die of embarrassment. It was a feeling he often felt when Klaus was involved. He had seen his brother flirt with more people than he could count, but he didn’t think he could stand to watch another moment of Klaus hitting on perhaps the one person left from the academy that a shred of respect left for him. Well, the only person outside of maybe Patch. But at the moment Diego knew they weren’t on good terms. So Beaman was it.

Pulling Klaus gruffly away by the arm, Diego started the two of them back toward his car without a backward glance at his old classmate. At this point he didn’t care if it hurt Klaus or not.

“Let’s go you idiot. Get in the car,” he said, wrenching open the door to the backseat. Klaus stumbled inside, and Diego heard an audible crack that he knew was one of Klaus’ too bony knees colliding with the metal frame. He might have apologized, but he was too desperate and too annoyed by the entire situation. Slamming the door behind his brother, Diego yanked open the driver’s side before pausing. He supposed he _should_ thank Beaman.

“Hey,” he said, turning back around but not quite meeting Beaman’s eyes. “Thanks for the call about my brother. I appreciate it. None of us know exactly when he’s going to do something stupid. We all kind of figured early on that we’d end up finding him in a ditch someday.”

Shit. He hadn’t meant to say that last bit out loud.

Before Beaman could reply, Diego climbed into the seat and pulled the door shut, quickly throwing the car into drive and clunking down the dark night streets toward home.

************************************************************

The ride home was nearly silent. The only sounds to fill the car were Klaus’ occasionally labored breaths. Every time Diego heard a hitch or a shaky sigh, he found himself stealing a glance in his rearview mirror. Klaus’ eyes were shut, but Diego could tell he wasn’t sleeping. Klaus hardly ever slept when he was coming off of a high, too itchy and nauseated to be at peace. And from the way he was groaning, Diego suspected that was the state he was in currently. That, and the swollen side of his face had to hurt.

 “You good back there?”

 Klaus didn’t open his eyes. “Oh yeah, Diego, living the dream of having my own personal chauffer. Finally I’m getting to live Allison’s life. Not quite the red carpet treatment, but your little wagon will do the trick I suppose.”

 “Yeah, well don’t get too used to it. I’m not picking your ass up every time you need a ride.” For some reason Diego felt a little bit guilty as the words came out of his mouth. Maybe it was the way Klaus turned his head to the side, away from him, or how the words sounded so venomous. Maybe it was because he wasn’t sure if he even meant it or if it was just his current annoyance at the whole situation. Either way, neither of them spoke again until they were inside Diego’s boiler room at the gym.

 Klaus made an ambling beeline straight for the rickety bed in the corner, but Diego had grabbed him by the shoulders, steering him around. He was only mildly surprised that Klaus was light enough to be maneuvered so easily. How much did he even weigh?

 “Not so fast, stoner boy,” Diego said, pushing him back toward the door. “There’s no way in hell you’re sleeping in my bed before you have a shower. You smell like shit and I don’t have the money to be washing my sheets every goddamn day.”

This was only half of his reasoning. Truthfully, Diego couldn’t stand the thought of all of Klaus’ current grime being transferred to his bed. But the other half was simply that Klaus looked like he needed to spend some time under the hot water. He could remember that, as kids, Klaus would spend sometimes hours at a time soaking in one of the several tubs littered throughout the Academy’s bathrooms. Diego had never fully understood the appeal of baths, but now, as he took in Klaus’ defeated posture, dead eyes, and the accumulated residue of his life’s vices built up on his skin, Diego thought that his brother needed nothing more than to spend some time in soothing, hot water.

Klaus made a whining noise in his throat and dropped to the floor in a heap, out of Diego’s grasp. Diego rolled his eyes and pulled on Klaus’ arm. “It’s not up for discussion. Get up, you’re taking a shower.”

Below him, Klaus muttered something he couldn’t quite make out.

“What? I figured you’d jump at that shit. Didn’t you used to stay so long in the water that Mom was worried you’d drowned?” And once they got older, so had Diego, but for completely different reasons.

Klaus didn’t look up at him, but spoke louder, though his voice was still soft. “I don’t think I can stand long enough.”

Diego felt his heart sink a little.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Diego stood quietly for a moment letting the quiet of his room absorb the words before hooking his hands under Klaus’ too-skinny arms and hoisting him up.

“C’mon,” he said, not unkindly. “I’ve got a work around.”

******************************************************************

An hour later, Diego stood in front of his tiny stove, stirring a can of dollar store chicken broth around in his only rusted out pot. Behind him, Klaus laid uncharacteristically quiet on his bed. Diego was sure he wasn’t sleeping, despite having seemed markedly more languid after a long shower. Diego had ended dragging two metal folding chairs to the locker room; one for Klaus to sit on under the water of the communal showers, and one for himself, propped on the other side of the doorway to keep watch. Diego had known that no one would be coming in at the late hour, not even Al, but something had made him stick around anyway to make sure Klaus had a little privacy. And it had turned out to be a good thing, as Diego had heard loud retching sounds about twenty minutes in. At least he knew he’d have to clean the vomit off the tile in the morning and it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Diego turned off the heat and poured the bland soup into a couple of bowls. Klaus, who was facing the wall, didn’t turn when Diego sat down heavily in the chair by his bed and set one of the bowls down with a clank. “Wake up man, soup’s done,” he said, giving his brother the grace of pretending to think he was asleep. Still, Klaus did not move.

The second Hargreeves took the opportunity to get a better inventory of the body of his brother before him. Klaus wasn’t wearing a shirt, seeing as his was unfit for wearing in its soiled condition, and Diego didn’t have any clean ones. He had, however, borrowed a pair of Diego’s too big sweatpants. Instead, Klaus had pulled Diego’s thin blanket partially up his torso, but had left enough uncovered to let Diego see the scratches that worked their way down his back, the bruises that looks suspiciously like bite marring his shoulders in varying stages of healing, and the way his shoulder blades and ribs stuck out too sharply for Diego’s liking. Even though he had just taken a shower, Diego could see a thin sheen of sweat already beginning to cling to Klaus’ skin, and noticed a slight shiver that accentuated the rise and fall of his breathing. ‘ _Withdrawal_ ,’ he thought, knowing instantly what the culprit was. Diego moved his eyes upward, toward Klaus’ head. With the dirt and blood rinsed off, he could see more clearly the deepening purples of the bruises that lined the left side of Klaus’ face. Thankfully, at least from what he could see, the swelling had gone down.  Diego shifted slightly, uncomfortable in knowing what had caused all of Klaus’ current injuries.

Carefully, he rested his hand on Klaus’ bare shoulder. Klaus flinched at the contact, and Diego retracted his hand as though Klaus’ skin had burned him.

 _‘Shit.’_ Now Diego knew he had to ask. He didn’t how to fucking broach the topic.

“Listen, Klaus. Beaman told me what happened, and that guy- he’s not going to be giving you any trouble after tonight, is he?”

Ever since they were teenagers, Klaus had known how to pick ‘em. Sometimes Diego wondered if Klaus had a sign over his head that drew in creeps. Maybe it was just that Klaus was never in a right enough state of mind of know exactly what kind of people he was consorting with. Or maybe it was just that Klaus didn’t care. Each seemed equally likely, if Diego was being honest with himself. While they were still at the Academy, Klaus had never quite announced the relationships and one night stands that he managed to bring back (and Diego was still never sure how Klaus had gotten away with any of them), but he had never kept them under lock and key either. Diego supposed it was quite like all the drugs Klaus had somehow snuck into the house over the years- an open secret. But Diego had noticed that more often than not, whenever a girlfriend or boyfriend stopped sneaking around their rooms at night, Klaus would be sporting at least one or two noticeable bruises. Diego had never questioned Klaus about this when they were sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. But now, looking at his brother, he wondered if he should have. Something in his gut twisted uncomfortably.

“Klaus. Answer me.”

Klaus let out a long breath before speaking, his voice hollow and quiet, none of its usual litheness present. Diego wished he would be his loud and obnoxious self.

“No… I don’t think so. It’s not like I was seeing him or anything, and he wasn’t a regular dealer. I’d just met him a couple of times and needed a fix, knew where he hung around. I just didn’t have anything to pay him with.” Klaus paused, his shoulders hitching in a small laugh. “Guess he didn’t much care for my payment, eh? Think they offer classes on that sort of thing? Improve my game?”

Diego felt himself clenching his jaw and his shoulder square in a tight line, the anger in his chest rising like a swelling balloon at the flippancy in Klaus’ voice.  “This isn’t a fucking joke, Klaus. You’re gonna get yourself into some real deep shit if you keep doing stuff like this. And next time, Beaman might not be there to bail you out. _I_ might not’ve been there to bail you out. That asshole could have killed you. And then what?”

Finally, Klaus turned his head to look back at Diego. Diego felt the spirit deflate inside of him when he at last saw his brother’s face. Klaus’ expression looked tired, and there was no trace of his trademark grin spread on his face. He looked haggard in a way that Diego didn’t recall seeing him in years past. His face was worn, much too worn for someone only 24 years old. Diego felt that they were all, all of his siblings, much older than they were, but in that moment, Klaus looked like he had lived three lifetimes already.

“What do you want me to do, Diego?”

Klaus’ response stopped any words that Diego might have had ready on his tongue. That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? What did he want Klaus to do? The obvious answer was that Diego wanted Klaus to get clean, to stay clean, and to get his shit together. But he also knew that after ten years, the chances of that happening only seemed to get slimmer and slimmer. Diego had lived with Klaus long enough to know that his brother didn’t have the best planning skills, had never thought too well about the future. And on top of that, other than Ben, Klaus’ powers were perhaps the most difficult to manage out of the lot of them. He had heard his brother’s screaming enough through the walls as children to know that Klaus had never had an easy go of life, even by the standards of the Umbrella Academy. But still, _still_ , Diego could not understand how Klaus kept choosing the life he was living.  Diego had seen the end results of enough addicts both as a cop and in his new life as a vigilante. None of them were good, and he shivered to think of Klaus end up among them. But what DID he want? Rehab hadn’t worked, not once. Jail hadn’t worked. Diego had offered Klaus a place to stay with him, and that hadn’t worked. So what else could he offer Klaus?

A long moment of silence sat heavily between them before Diego finally put an end to it.

“I don’t know, Klaus. I don’t know what you should do.”

Klaus didn’t look at him, instead choosing to fix his eyes on the bowl of hot chicken broth that sat steaming between them.  Diego thought that his face was strangely pensive for someone who tried to avoid his thoughts like his life depended on it. Maybe that was the problem.

“Personally, Diego, I think I should eat that bowl of soup. Since you went to all the trouble of being both my chauffer and my personal chef. Or are we gonna let that fine cuisine go to waste?”

Diego felt himself smile despite himself. “Yeah, sounds good, bro. I spent a whole 79 cents on it, after all.”

So for the next while they sat in a companionable silence, sipping on the only food Diego trusted Klaus to be able to keep down. It was comfortable, and warm in a way that Diego wasn’t used to, with Klaus or with any of his siblings.

When Klaus finally nodded out on the bed, Diego sat up in the chair next to him, keeping watch. He could almost ignore what he knew would happen in the next couple of days. He could almost ignore the way he knew that Klaus would start to really vomit and shake in the morning, losing all the broth he had just gotten into his stomach. He could almost ignore the way he knew Klaus would start to dig for the drugs he seemed to pull out of nowhere, and the way that Diego always lost his temper with him too quickly. He could almost ignore all the yelling and arguing and pleading and blaming that he knew would come by the same time of night in a couple of days, the way Klaus would storm out and the way Diego would slam the door on his brother’s way out. Almost. But even though he knew it would be coming, even in the peace of the moment, Diego decided to let himself and Klaus have whatever the hell the moment was. And eventually, Diego let the soft sounds of his and Klaus’ breathing carry him to sleep.


End file.
